


Gray's Secret

by TheOtter99



Category: The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
Genre: Angst, Blood and Gore, Death Threats, Dysfunctional Family, Needles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:15:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24886681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheOtter99/pseuds/TheOtter99
Summary: It's time for Ginger to finally see what is in his grandfather's attic, but is he really prepared for what he's going to see?
Kudos: 1





	Gray's Secret

**Author's Note:**

> Once upon a time (Well it's still happening currently) I entered a Steampunk Role Play and I decided to throw in my own version of Dorian Gray into it. To progress the story I was telling in the role play, I needed to write my own small story. So, basically what you need to know is Gray is in his 80s and has a grandson, Ginger, that has ran away from his manor. Ginger returns to the manor after he found the three keys that Gray was hiding and is now planning to finally unlock the attic when Gray goes to sleep that night.

Ginger had once again asked his grandfather if he could spend the night at his manor, but in reality, he wasn’t going to get an ounce of sleep that night.  
There he was, laying in his old bed, smothered by the large, heavy blankets and the 6 fluffy pillows. Why did rich snobs think they needed so many pillows on one bed? Ginger could never figure it out, even when he was a rich snob himself... a long time ago. At least now he no longer was one. He refused to live with his grandfather after his parents passed. Gray was nothing more than an aristocrat who tried to make himself appear as a charming and spectacular person but on the inside, he was nothing but a monster.   
Several minutes ago, the piano that could be heard playing in the next room grew silent indicating that the only person who ever played it, his grandfather, was asleep. Ginger laid on his bed still until what felt like an hour had passed. Gray must have been asleep by this point.  
Sighing, Ginger slowly sat up and glanced around his old room. It was still giant, with the back wall covered in windows that was currently covered with a red, silk curtain and sitting against the center of the leftmost wall was Ginger’s bed. It was a king size mattress that was as soft as a cloud. The carpet was blood red and the desk on the other side of the room was empty. Completely bare. This room was too clean, too nice. There wasn’t a single mark or personal detail anywhere saying that someone lived here. Gray did a good job cleaning up this place after Ginger left.   
The teenager tore the covers off himself and stood up on the floor, with his shoes still on. He grabbed a necklace chain that was hiding underneath his shirt and he took it off his neck to stare at it. In Ginger’s hand was three brass keys, all hanging from the chain. It took a long time to get these, but Ginger finally had them. There was no doubt that Robin also wanted to join Ginger during this dangerous expedition but Ginger didn’t want her to be in more trouble than she already was. She didn’t need to be caught by Gray and thrown in jail because Ginger made a mistake. No, this would be Ginger’s mission and Ginger’s mission alone.   
Ginger tiptoed to the door and slowly opened it to peek into the hallway. There wasn’t a soul in sight. The lanterns have been turned off for the night and as Ginger listened, the servants must have clocked out because he heard nothing. Nothing except for his own heavy breath. Ginger stepped out of his room and slowly walked down the hallway, glancing in each direction to make sure no one was around.   
He may have known where the keys lead to, but this didn’t make him any less shaken. What kind of monstrosity would be in a room that required three keys to unlock? Ginger knew that Gray had secrets but what kind of secrets needed that kind of protection? Was it the secret towards why Gray hasn’t aged is 60 years? The thought of that made Ginger freeze in his tracks and hold his breath. That must have been it, for why would there be so much security behind this? Oh gods, Ginger needed to get there and find out before Gray knew he was out and about.   
Ginger picked up his pace, and soon Ginger found himself at the door that supposedly led to the manor’s attic. The only place here where Ginger has never been in his entire life. He had cried and begged to see it when he was growing up but now Ginger felt his palms sweat and his knees buckle. Why was he so scared suddenly? He was always so brave and cunning. Ginger was able to take a bad situation and be able to easily get himself out of it. He has faced a mob and a vampire but he never had to encounter something so terrible like his own grandfather.  
Before he let himself think about it too much, Ginger quickly unlocked the door and it creaked open. Ginger held his breath, expecting something to jump out at him but nothing did. All there was in front of Ginger was a dusty staircase that led up into the darkness of the attic.  
Ginger found a candlestick at the foot of the stairs and he quickly picked it up, using his matches to light up the candle for a light source. He held his breath and slowly tested the first step of the stairs. When it began to creak, Ginger quickly drew back from this step and tested out the second step. This one didn’t make any noise so Ginger stepped up onto it. This was what Ginger did for the entirety of the way up the stairs to make as little noise as possible.  
Soon enough, Ginger found himself in the dark room that was full of storage. A spider crawled across Ginger’s shoe as he noticed the cobwebs devouring the boxes of storage. Above him, the glowing eyes of a bat lingered in the broken rafters. Surprisingly, there was one window here that let in the moonlight. The window had a stained glass pattern that depicted a beautiful scene of a woman singing on stage. Most of the colors used for the window was red, bringing a dark red tilt throughout the room.  
Ginger wanted to get out of here as soon as possible so he placed his candle stick down on a dusty table and started to look around. There was so much dust and cobwebs everywhere that Ginger knew that it would be easy to find what was important to Gray. If it wasn’t dusty on it, then his grandfather must have laid his hands on it recently, but if that was the case, then only two things in this room were important.   
The first didn’t surprise Ginger, for it was a spotless mirror with a bronze frame. Gray was so full of himself, that it didn’t surprise Ginger that there would be a mirror here for his grandfather to admire his youthful and charming body even in his secret room.  
The second thing though was flat, tall and was covered in a thick cloth, a rope trying it down. Ginger slowly approached this item that was leaning against the back and empty wall and didn’t think much about it as he untied the rope and removed the cloth.   
Ginger froze at what he saw.   
It was a portrait, just like the one that Gray made Ginger get several years ago but this one was different and a lot more disturbing. What stood on the canvas was a creature with decaying, gray skin, and on some parts of his body, the flesh had fallen off of the skin, revealing the chipped bones underneath. Blood soaked his bony hands and his once nice suit was full of wrinkles and mold in it.The background on the canvas depicted a dying forest, the trees blackened and bare and the river had dried up. The sky was red with black clouds, no hint of the sun lingered there. In the corner of the painting was the name of a former well known painter- Bram.   
But the face. The face was the worst part. The man held a smirking smile, showing his rotten teeth and bleeding gums. The gray skin was covered in wrinkles that were shivered up and looked rough to the touch. One of his ears had fallen completely off and his black hair and nose was not far behind. His hair was thin and blood soaked the remainder of his hair from a broken skull.   
And the man’s, no, the monster’s yellow eyes seemed to follow Ginger’s movements as he stepped back. Ginger tried his best to deny it, but the eyes seemed to have pierced into Ginger’s soul and was plotting his very demise. How could that have been possible? This was only a painting. It couldn’t have done that. This was some sort of a sick joke.  
Ginger may have believed that a few months ago, but now he was convinced that this portrait was the secret that Gray was hiding. There was something very, very wrong with this.   
“Isn’t it beautiful?”   
A chill went down Ginger’s spine as he slowly looked behind him to find the figure of a man who appeared to be 20 at the top of the stairs, looking between the portrait and Ginger. His charming face held no emotion but Ginger knew it was plotting, just like the portrait.   
Ginger quickly turned to the man, standing straight. He spoke in a tone that made it seem like he wasn’t in a terrible situation and was just meeting up with a relative. “Hello, grandfather.”  
Gray didn’t acknowledge the greeting as he wandered over to the portrait, and gently strummed his fingers across the canvas. Ginger watched Gray’s movements closely.  
Gray spoke softly. “You’re up late.”  
“I couldn’t sleep.”  
“So you steal my keys to break into this room.” Gray chuckled a little. “Well, the story was getting a little dull even if the last plot point had only happened a few years ago. What a beautiful addition to the tragedy of Daniel Gray and the end of the sad, sad story of Ginger Gray.”   
Ginger would have frozen up but he didn’t dare show how afraid he truly was. He needed to find a way to get out here but the manor was huge. If he ran down the steps, Ginger knew that the youthful man would have surely caught up to him. Ginger needed to buy more time to think this through. “If this is a story, then who is the hero and who is the villain?”  
Gray smiles. “Oh? Are you playing along?... Well, it would matter on which perspective you were looking at. You see, for me I would be the hero. The tragic hero to be more exact.”  
“And why would you say that?”  
Gray smiles boldly at this. “You are playing along. You are encouraging me to recite a monologue just like in all of those great plays that I have once seen. Since you please me so much, grandson, I will tell you. But if only you behave.  
“A long time ago, I was a well behaved and modest young boy. I had a friend who taught me everything I know today and the other friend, well, he looked upon my elegance and beauty and saw me as a god. No wonder his portrait of me was so life-like and beautiful. But for his great talents, this would only bring me dispire. When I first settled my sights upon the portrait, I realized just how temporary my youth and beauty would last and how unfair that something on a piece of paper would forever depict how I once was. It was almost like it was mocking me. So I thrust down in front of the portrait and begged for one thing. That our fates would trade places. The portrait would age and rot away as I stayed like this forever.” Gray starts chuckling and his laugh echoed around the room.   
“And, my wish was granted. But it just wasn’t just my youthfulness that stayed upon me, but also my kind and innocent appearance. For if I did a menacing deed, the me in the portrait would carry the load for my sins. If I accidentally caused the demise of my one true lover, a smirk would appear on the portrait. If I killed both of my former friends for discovering my secret, blood would appear on the portrait’s hands. The portrait is forever stained by these sins but I remain the same. Isn’t that just a beautiful thing to witness? Isn’t it so fascinating?”   
Ginger stopped his train of thought of trying to escape. “W-Wait… so you did kill them? Shit.”  
A smile appears on Gray’s face, the same smile that is reflected on the portrait. “Oh, not just them. After all, your mother finally convinced your father that there was something odd about me, and he eventually found his way here. Same thing with your mother just a few years ago.”  
Ginger stepped back, completely forgetting about his plan to escape. His blood started to boil as he spoke softly at first. “Y-You killed th-them….” After a moment, his voice became firmer as he spoke louder with a sense of fiery angry. “YOU KILLED THEM!”   
“Mayhaps.” Gray brought out his arms, prideful as his portrait looming over everyone in the room.   
“I’ll kill you!”   
“Not before I kill you first.”  
Angry shaking through his veins, Ginger dropped all sense of knowledge and wit that he held just minutes before. He lunged towards Gray and tried to grab hold of his neck, but his grandfather was too fast.   
Suddenly a syringe was stabbed into the side of Ginger’s neck and a sensation of sleepiness shot through him. Ginger yelped and took a step back, trying to keep his balance. Whatever Gray injected into him was working fast.  
He tried to keep his eyes open as he vaguely heard Gray’s drifting voice. “Don’t worry. That won’t kill you. I just want you to be silent as I deliver the final blow.” Ginger, through his blurry vision, noticed something flash by Gray’s pocket.   
Ginger needed to get out of there. He needed to go. But he couldn’t stay up much longer and that’s what Gray was waiting for. He needed to go somewhere. Somewhere Gray wouldn’t dare to kill him and ruin his reputation.  
Ginger then remembered the red tint that spread across the room as he stared down at his hands. Ginger held his breath and made a run for it. He jumped and collided against the stained glass window. As the glass scattered around him and he fell through the night sky, Ginger closed his eyes and fell asleep.


End file.
